Magus (Advent Mage Cycle) (2 page)

Chapter One: New Alliances

Sometimes he hated it when he was right.

King Guin of Hain stood looking at the large map of Chahir hanging on his study wall. He'd had it put there two months ago, just after coming home from the negotiations with Vonlorison. He had hoped that the new laws dealing with magic would take root in Chahir, but had been pessimistically aware that perhaps only half of the Doms in Chahir would actually do anything to enforce the new laws.

As it turned out, it wasn't even half. Perhaps a third of the provinces in Chahir were abiding by the new laws, no more.

There were still people coming in from Chahir, looking for sanctuary and training, but those people told of a hard and dangerous journey filled with dodging patrols and running from local law enforcements. What made the situation worse was that the provinces lying on the Chahir-Hain border were by far the worst offenders. Crossing the border was more a matter of luck than skill.

Guin found that he couldn't ignore the situation. He was always short on magicians, the need for their skills and knowledge always outweighing the people available. That alone would make him consider helping people out of Chahir, but it was more than that.

Killing someone just because of a talent they were born with was wrong. He knew that to the depth of his being, and he could not turn away from that knowledge or pretend that he had no right to interfere.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned away from the map, calling "Enter!"

Val Haben opened the door and his face was alight with a satisfied smile. "Sire, Captain Xiaolang of the Red Hand is here."

"Bring him in, please." Guin rubbed his hands together, a fierce feeling of anticipation tingling at the base of his spine. Considering how dangerous using magic was in Chahir, he hadn't thought it wise to send magicians in as rescue teams. A non-magical solution to this problem would be better. He had contacted Ascalon a week ago, asking for their best team in infiltration. He hadn't expected the Red Hand, but was absolutely delighted to have them. Even here, in Hain, the Red Hand team was famous for their abilities to infiltrate anywhere, and to recover anything…or anyone.

Guin smoothed his face out into more neutrally polite lines when he heard the approach of two sets of feet. Grinning like a demented goat with a new chew toy would hardly be dignified, after all.

The first one into the room was Val Haben, but close on his heels was a lithe young man wearing the black and red uniform of Ascalon. He was striking with thick black hair, pale skin, and sharply penetrating blue eyes.

Guin was an experienced politician, with years of practice in keeping his face straight, so he didn't gape…much. He'd heard that the captain of the Red Hand was young, but he hadn't expected him to be around Garth's age!

After a brief second of surprise, reflex kicked in and Guin was composed and in control once more. "Captain Xiaolang, thank you for responding so promptly."

"Not at all, Your Majesty." Captain Xiaolang flashed him a smile, one filled with easy humor and confidence.

"Please be seated," Guin invited. He used the few seconds that it took for his guest to sink into a comfortable armchair to give the captain a quick perusal. So young! And he was obviously not native to Ascalon. They were a darkly complexional race, and this young man was too fair and by far too light of frame to belong to that people. Actually, Guin couldn't quite pin what nationality he was. (This didn't surprise him, as his intelligence officers hadn't been able to figure it out either.) That blue-black hair and brilliant blue eyes were almost Q'atalian…but the skin color was wrong. Besides, the idea was absurd. No Q'atalian would be a captain in any military; they were a very pacifist culture.

Before he could be caught staring, he sank into a nearby armchair. "May I offer you any refreshments?"

"I'm fine, but thank you." Xiaolang was relaxed in his seat, perfectly at ease and attentive.

"Very well, I'll get straight to the point." Guin took a breath, ready to launch into his prepared explanation…and then paused when a thought struck him. This man was reputed to be excellent at gathering information. Actually, Guin wouldn't be surprised if the captain already knew why he was here. "Captain Xiaolang, would I be mistaken if I said that you already know why you are here?"

Xiaolang's head cocked slightly to the side. "Did you call me here in order to hire my team to help rescue people with magical abilities out of Chahir?"

Guin felt the corners of his mouth twitch slightly as he suppressed a smile. "Indeed."

"Then no, Your Majesty, you are not mistaken.”

"Dare I ask how you knew?"

Xiaolang gave an elegant shrug. "I have many sources of information. The political tension between Chahir and Hain over the treatment of magical people, and of course, your recent visit and the results of those negotiations were rather obvious. I simply inferred a number of things from that."

The man was certainly living up to his reputation. Guin nodded thoughtfully. "Then I needn't bore you with a full explanation. Most of the province lords in Chahir do not choose to enforce the new laws. Actually, some of them are actively hunting magically gifted people down. I cannot ignore the situation."

Xiaolang nodded in understanding. "How many people do you want retrieved?"

"All of them," Guin answered simply.

Those penetrating blue eyes widened slightly. "
All
of them?"

"Captain, I'm fully aware of how impossible this task seems," Guin admitted with a weary sigh. "After all, people with magical gifts are being born daily. People will become aware of their gifts at random moments. You might not find anyone one week, and find a hundred the next. It's a dangerous and very time-consuming task that I'm asking you to take on, and one without any end in sight. All I can promise you is that I'm not done with Chahir yet. I am still in close correspondence with Vonlorison, and still trying to sway him to do something to stop this atrocity. Eventually, I think he will enforce the laws that we agreed to two months ago. But this will take time. Captain." Guin leaned forward slightly in his seat, giving his words emphasis, "I know that this will keep you from your home for quite some time. Are you willing to do it?"

For a long moment, Xiaolang sat in silence, his eyes locked with Guin's. "What fee are you offering?"

"Name your price," Guin retaliated.

Xiaolang's eyes flew wide, and then he started chuckling in genuine humor. "That is a dangerous thing to say to a mercenary captain, King Guin. It's almost a shame that I promised my reflection that I would be nice today, and not take shameless advantage of the situation." With a rueful sigh he shook his head. "The temptation is almost too much. No, Your Majesty, I shall charge you standard fee, plus traveling and living expenses since we shall be in Chahir for so long. Is that acceptable?"

Guin blinked. He had expected to pay far more than this; had steeled himself to pay his entire family fortune, actually. He had not expected this much generosity. "More than acceptable, Captain." He almost felt like bargaining
for
the captain, but restrained himself at the last moment. One didn't argue when handed a bargain. That would be foolish. "You shall have support as well."

Xiaolang looked intrigued. "Really? What support?"

"I have two people within my service that excel at finding people with magical abilities," Guin explained. "They can search for several miles around them, sometimes up to twenty miles. They will be at your disposal."

"That is a relief to hear," Xiaolang admitted with a wry smile. "I had been wondering on how to tell the magical people apart from anyone else. Rescuing people without knowing who to rescue would be a tricky business."

"I can imagine," Guin drawled. "When can your team get here?"

"They're here now," Xiaolang corrected. "They came with me. It was an easy trip down river, and they wanted a chance to play tourist. We can begin at any time."

Guin beamed, thoroughly caught up in a wave of enthusiasm. "Excellent! I shall call in the people that you'll work with. If you'll gather your team, Captain, we can meet here within an hour?"

"Perfectly acceptable, Your Majesty."

~*~

When Val Haben comes and gets me with that smile on his face, I know it’s time to quickly disappear somewhere. I probably would have, too, if he hadn't already had Chatta in tow. There's no way that I can leave my best friend in the lurch, which Haben knows and was probably counting on, which is why he got her first.

I'm not sure which is worse, being manipulated, or knowing that you're being manipulated, but unable to do anything about it.

As I followed Haben down the palace hallways, Chatta leaned in close and murmured, "Garth, do you know what this is about?"

"No idea," I answered quietly. "Do you?"

"I have a hunch," she admitted. "The last few people that came out of Chahir were in pretty bad condition. It infuriated Guin."

It had infuriated me, too, but I saw what she was getting at. "You think that he's going to do something about it, and we're part of it."

She nodded grimly.

Haben had obviously overhead us, because over his shoulder he said, "You're right."

Well, since he was confirming our suspicions, he might tell us something more. "Can you tell us anything else?"

"I'll let the King explain it," Haben said easily.

I would have persisted, but we were practically on top of Guin's study, so I let it rest. I'd get my answers soon enough.

Haben was apparently expected as he only gave a quick rap on the door before shoving it open and stepping inside. I followed him in, but stopped when I realized that there were five complete strangers in the room.

They were all wearing the black and red uniforms of an Ascalon soldier, from the Empire of Sol.

I blinked at them dumbly, exchanging a quick look of bemusement with Chatta. Well. This was something we hadn't expected.

"Good, we're all here." Guin was beaming, like a giddy child with hidden candy in his pockets. That expression made me want to run for the hills. "Chatta, Garth, this is Captain Xiaolang of the Red Hand."

I turned to see who he had indicated…and nearly swallowed my tongue in surprise. The man facing me couldn't have been much older than Chatta or me, and was obviously not Solian. I'm not sure precisely what I had been expecting as a captain…I just knew that whatever it was, he was on the other end of the spectrum.

"Captain Xiaolang," Guin continued, oblivious to my surprise, "This is Magus Rhebengarthen, and Witch L-Chattamoinita Delheart."

"
Ainlie."
He extended a hand in greeting, so I accepted it, hand clasping his forearm.

Then I nearly dropped it in surprise.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and the grip he had on my arm tightened. "You know what I am."

That wasn't true. I had no idea what he was; I just knew that he wasn't completely normal. He wasn't magical, precisely, but I was feeling something in him that was different, something…something that felt like the warmth of a lantern's light. "Chatta," I pleaded in a strained voice, "please tell me what I'm sensing from him."

My best friend hissed in a shocked breath. "He's Q'atalian!"

He's what?! My Jaunten blood was pouring knowledge into my head, but all of it was telling me that no Q'atalian would ever voluntarily be a soldier. I was more than surprised now, I was dumbfounded. Judging from the expression on my king's face, so was he.

"This is amazing," Xiaolang stated in growing enthusiasm. "I have no real magic in me, but you both can detect it? Well, your king has not exaggerated your abilities, certainly."

Finally it hit me what I was sensing in him. All Q'atalians were empaths—his emphatic ability was close enough to magic that I could sense it. "No magic," I confirmed hoarsely. "But you're an empath."

"Indeed," he agreed with a brilliant smile. "And I can feel both of you very clearly. King Guin," he dropped my hand and turned to face Guin. "You have given me very good people to work with."

It took a second for Guin to get his mouth working again. "Two of my best," Guin acknowledged.

I blushed at hearing this, and when I took a peek at Chatta, I saw that she was just as embarrassed as I was.

Xiaolang was apparently amused at our reactions, but took pity and diverted the conversation away from the topic. "Let me introduce the rest of the Red Hand. This is Shield Garbracen, my first lieutenant."

Shield was a stocky man with shockingly light hair and dark skin, but his manner was easy enough, the smile he gave us genuine. "
Ain
."

"Hazard Harewood, my Intelligence Officer," Xiaolang continued, indicating a bear of a man who was sprawled comfortably in a chair. Hazard only waved a hello and smiled, not offering a more verbal greeting, but something about him said that he was an easy person to get along with.

"Aletha Saboton, Infiltration Specialist and overall Queen of sneaky and underhanded tactics." Xiaolang flashed the woman a teasing smile.

"One day, Captain, we're going to have a little 'discussion' on the way you introduce me," Aletha promised direly.

"I look forward to it," Xiaolang promised with a mischievous wink.

She frowned at him, but smiled when she greeted us. "
Ainlie
." It was almost odd to see a woman in uniform, especially one as darkly lovely as Aletha was, but she somehow fit into the group with ease. She certainly had no qualms about taking her captain to task.

"And last but never least, Eagle Sevar, who is our Language Specialist."

Eagle was tall, with bleached hair and golden brown eyes. In fluent Chahirese he turned to me and said, "
De Evana
."

I blinked at hearing this from a Solian, but responded out of sheer reflex. "
De Evana. Evana anata te dame
."

I could swear his ears perked slightly. "Are you from Tobadorage?"

My jaw dropped before I could catch it. "How did you know that?"